Initialization of a computer system is performed upon power-up of the computer system or hardware or software reset operations. The initialization process is referred to as "booting" the computer system.
In one boot scheme the processor is designed to read a pre-determined memory location when the processor is reset or powered up. The pre-determined memory location stores a boot vector which directs the processor to a memory address of the beginning of the bootstrap routines.
The boot vector typically defaults to an address in read-only memory (ROM). The ROM stores the computer system boot code such as the bootstrap loader and other initialization or micro-operating system routines. The device storing the bootstrap loader and other minimal initialization procedures is referred to as the boot device.
Traditionally, ROM or electrically programmable read only memories (EPROMs) have served as nonvolatile memory for storage of computer system boot code. The boot code may include software such as Basic Input Output System ("BIOS") routines which are specific to the computer system being booted. Thus system specific information is also stored in the ROM or EPROM.
One disadvantage of this approach, however, is the inability to reprogram the ROM or EPROM to accommodate changes in the computer system. The only way to make changes to the BIOS, for example, is to replace the ROM or EPROM. This may be difficult if the ROM or EPROM is soldered to a circuit board. In addition, the computer may have to be at least partially disassembled in order to gain access to the ROM or EPROM.
A programmable nonvolatile memory such as flash electrically erasable programmable read only memory (flash EEPROM) provides a medium that allows the BIOS to be adapted to changing hardware and software conditions. BIOS updates can be performed using an update program in order to modify the BIOS to accommodate, for example, new peripheral devices, additional memory, add-in cards or even to fix errors in the current version of the BIOS.
Flash memory can be reprogrammed only after being erased. Erasure of flash memory must be performed at a block level, thus in order to change a few bytes within a block, the entire block must first be erased. The bootstrap loader, BIOS, and system parameters might be located in separate blocks to facilitate independent modification.
The flash memory used to store boot code and BIOS is typically asymmetrically blocked due to the size differences between the bootstrap loader, BIOS, and system parameter data. Thus the bootstrap loader is stored in a block of one size and the BIOS is stored in one or more blocks of a different size. In addition, blocks storing system specific parameter data might be yet a third size.
One disadvantage of this approach is that asymmetrically blocked architectures are more difficult to expand or extend as the stored code or data changes in size. The block sizes are fixed when the nonvolatile memory is fabricated, thus the block sizes cannot subsequently be changed in order to allocate excess memory from one block to another block.
The asymmetrically blocked architecture typically results in wasted memory because there is no provision for management of the excess memory within individual blocks. BIOS update programs typically replace the contents of the block containing the old BIOS with the new BIOS. Thus any data sharing the same block as the BIOS will be lost when the BIOS is updated. This prevents other applications from being able to use excess memory within a block. Thus another disadvantage of the asymmetrically blocked architecture is the inability to use excess memory within a block.
When updating BIOS, the blocks that the BIOS is stored in must first be erased. If a power failure occurs after starting the erasure of the blocks and before the new version of the BIOS has been completely written, then the new BIOS is left in an unusable state. Furthermore, the computer system cannot recover by using the old BIOS because the old BIOS was deleted when the block was erased. Thus the upgrade process is inherently unreliable because of the inability to return to a former valid state if an error occurs while updating to the new state. Thus another disadvantage of the singly and asymmetrically blocked architectures is the sensitivity of the update process to events such as a power failure.